The Blog Down: The UN, E-1, and anti-Israel sentiments

No sooner were JPost.com bloggers reeling from the Gaza operation than the Palestinian UN bid took center stage.

e1 stop 521.
(photo credit:Ammar Awad/Reuters)

No
sooner were JPost.com bloggers reeling from Operation Pillar of Defense than the
Palestinian United Nations bid took center stage. To top it off, in the wake of
recent events at the UN, Hamas's celebrations, and the subsequent,
internationally unpopular settlement plans, many of our bloggers contended with
anti-Semtism, anti-Israel rhetoric, personal attacks and voiced concerns over
Israel's standing in the world today.

This week, two separate guest
bloggers from two continents submitted similar and disturbing articles regarding
anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiments. Conservative talk radio host Josh Nass
voiced concerns over numerous personal stories of young college students who
witnessed anti-Israel sentiment by professors during Operation Pillar of
Defense. In his post, Anti-Israel bigotry in the classroom must end, Nass urges
students to take a stand when Israel is unjustifiably attacked in academic
circles.

"I’m not familiar with the backgrounds of these particular
professors. But regardless, their utter ignorance about the conflict needs to be
corrected. It is the responsibility of the executive boards of each of these
respective schools to re-evaluate whether keeping such mouthpieces of
anti-Israel bigotry aboard, is beneficial to the education of their students.
But it is also incumbent upon the students, to bring such cases to the attention
of those in executive positions at their particular schools.

In a similar
post, Dutch student and blogger Timon Dias attempts to explain to Jerusalem Post
readers why the West doesn't hate Hamas. Dias cites personal stories from school
and from discussions with other students to piece together this puzzling notion
in his blog, The lack of Western disgust for Hamas. He writes,

"Among most
students, the narrative on the creation of Israel can be summarized as follows:
‘Nazi’s started the Holocaust, so the Jews fled to a land that was owned and
inhabited by peaceful Arabs. Then the Jews kicked the Arabs out, created their
own state, and left the Palestinians to rot in refugee camps and open air
prisons ever since. So now the Arabs are paying the price for the Holocaust,
which was caused by white Europeans. How unfair.’ …

But it is this perceived
illegitimacy of Israel as a state that lies at the core of the Western lack of
disgust for Hamas.

In an even more blatant display of anti-Israel
sentiment, blogger Gil Troy faced attacks on a personal level and chose to
eloquently respond to his critics in his whimsically titled post, Confessions of
a racist pig.

“'You should not be allowed to write here,” an irate respondent
posted, reacting to an article I wrote during the Gaza conflict on a leftwing
blog dedicated to fostering Middle East dialogue. “Go find some fascist paper to
write for you despicable liar. You are so scandalous and nasty I can't even
breathe right now.' And then the kicker: 'You racist pig.'

Shocked? How would
you respond to such criticism? Read the blog to find out Troy's
response.

Moving on from personal attacks to international condemnation,
Abe Foxman raises concern and offers criticism on the lack of international
support for Israel at the UN General Assembly. In his latest post, The
Palestinians' UN Gambit: Now What? He expresses disappointment in the voting
records of Israel's European "friends" and cautions,

"The onus is now on the
Palestinians to make the right choice and to return to negotiations. The
alternative will leave the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
unresolved and festering with no framework in place to negotiate the issues…

…If
that happens, and we see more violent confrontations like the one we just
witnessed in Gaza in the months and years ahead, those countries who failed to
stand up and say no in the General Assembly to the Palestinian fantasy state
will bear a great deal of responsibility.

Immediately following, we have Michael
Omer-Man's blog critiquing the Israeli response to the Palestinian UN bid and
voicing his concerns over Israel's increasing international isolation. In his
most recent blog, Netanyahu, E-1 and the problem with democracy, Omer-Man is
overtly critical of Netanyahu's decision to expand settlement building outside
Jerusalem. He accuses the prime minister of putting his political interests
first at the expense of the country he serves. He writes, "The prime minister
knew that advancing construction in E-1 would put Israel in the middle of a
diplomatic maelstrom. Furthermore, he knows that by advancing construction in
E-1 he is driving yet another nail into the already closed coffin interring the
two-state solution as it awaits burial. But Netanyahu never intended to achieve
a two-state solution, so that’s not an issue. And he’s already taken on the
United States and survived politically. So 'what’s the big deal?', Netanyahu
asks.

What is your take on
Netanyahu and E-1 building? Check out Omer-Man's blog and join the
discussion.

Finally as an end to this week's wrap we offer a thank you
and a sad goodbye to Hilary Leila Kreiger and Rebecca Anna Stoil whose blog
National Zoo, covering the 2012 US presidential elections, has come to a natural
conclusion.